connell, and harry reid to thewhitehousethisafternoonforafiscalcliffsummit.>> here we are five days from the new year, and we might finally start talking. >> today's white house meeting might be the last chance to come to an agreement. that's because it takes time for a bill to work its way through both chamber of commerce. >> i don't know time wise how it can happen now. >> under senate rules, the only way a bill could make its way through the procedural hurdles in time is if every senator agrees not to. they'll have 24 hours. outside the beltway, carlino will be watching. >> everyone is kind of in a wait-and-see and fingers-crossed per expect tichb right now. >> since 1930 this is only the fifth time congress has worked after christmas. and today's summit is the first time president obama has met face to face with congressional leaders since mid-november. duarte, tick tock. >> thank you. >>> general schwarzkopf is being remembered this morning as a great hero and tactician. as teresa garcia the general died yesterday at his home in tampa from complications related to pneumonia. >> repo

at thewhitehousetotry to cut a deal to avoid theso-calledfiscalcliff. injust four days across-the-board spending cuts take effect. >>> if president obama and congress fails to reach an agreement the price of milk could lead sharply. perhaps $6 per gallon. at issue is the farm bill and how much the federal government pays farmers. john blackstone reports. >> who wants milk? >> me. >> me. >> me. >> reporter: with four children the rasmussen family in california drinks about five gallons a week on milk. if congress doesn't pass the bill, i would cost him $106. that has dad sean rasmussen worried. >> they have to have their milk. we might have to cut elsewhere. >> reporter: without new legislation government prices revert back to 1939 levels. back then the process was more laborious and farmers needed a higher subsidy to cover their costs. dan sumner says the new price of milk would be far above what it now costs dairy farmers to produce it. >> it really will be chaos. >> reporter: so we would go back to this old farm bill which would force the government to buy milk at an extreme

. the senate is working on issues other thanthefiscalcliff. thehousedoesn'treturn until sunday. president obama got back today but no significant progress towards a deal. democrats and republicans are fighting about process and issues. republicans want democrats to come up with a new proposal. house republicans say sign on to their proposal, keeping tax ritz rates where they are. when it comes to this impasse, both sides have taken to blaming one another. >> the house of representatives is operating without the house of representative. it's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker. not allowing the vast majority of the house represents to get what they want. if the 250 would be brought up, it would pass overwhelmingly. >> we wanted an agreement. but we had no takers. the phone never rang and so now here we are five days from the new year and we might finally start talking. >> even if democrats and republicans, their leadership and the president, were to strike a deal on the fiscal cliff, it will take a couple days for the senate to work through it, the house to work through it an

. the senate is in town. they are meeting but not working onanythingfiscalcliffrelated.thehouseiscoming back on sunday evening according to a republican source, eric cantor, the house majority leader making that announcement on a conference call just a couple of hours ago. so they will be in town. but still we're all waiting on some type of agreement from congressional and perhaps the president, leaders, to have some type of framework for democrats and republicans to vote on. right now we're not there, and so far both sides have taken to blaming one another. >> the house of representatives is operating without the house of representatives. it's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker, not allowing the vast majority of the house of representatives to get what they want. if the 250 would be brought up, it would pass overwhelmingly. >> we wanted an agreement. but we had no takers. the phone never rang. and so now here we are five days from the new year and we might finally start talking. rich: so senate democrats want the house to pass their proposal. it passed a couple of months

to avoidthefiscalcliff. bothhousesofcongress are meeting in a rather sunday session. the senate convenes aat 1:00 eastern and the house at 2:00. our chief white house correspondent jessica yellen with the look at the chances for a deal and what's on the table. >> here in washington there is still hope a deal can be cut in time to avert the fiscal cliff. on saturday the president was at work here in the white house, but all eyes were on the senate where negotiators were trading deal points and revenue figures to try to reach an agreement all sides can stomach. the baseline for the president, any bipartisan bill has to extend unemployment insurance that would affect some 2 million americans, and increase taxes for the highest income earners. negotiators can still work out exactly where that tax increase would hit and whether they would halt an increase in the estate tax. in case those discussions break down, the president has asked democratic leader harry reid to prepare a separate bill to put on the floor of the senate that would raise taxes on households that earn $250,000 or mo

. >>> about 12 1/2 hours and counting now until we could fall off theso-calledfiscalcliff. thehouseandsenate are both in session. there are reports of progress in reaching a deal there. here is senator majority leader harry reid in just the past half hour. >> there are a number of issues on which the two sides are still apart and negotiations are continuing as i speak. whether or not we reach an agreement in the short time we have left we'll need cooperation on both sides to prevent taxes going up tomorrow for every family in america. >> joining me live right now is democratic congressman steve israel of new york, who is chairman of the democratic congressional campaign committee. a lot happening there, congressman. thanks for speaking with us. just to get some details we just got handed to us from kelly o'donnell, that is that in the latest deal in terms of the details, the taxes that are being discussed, regardless of the rate for a moment, they would be permanent and would not have a sunset provision. again, the progress is that they have come up with some understanding of an i

. the strategy inthehouseisif they try to move this bill at the same time they movethefiscalcliffbill,it has a better chance of passing them by itself? guest: the house is back to deal with the fiscal cliff bill. the hope to supporters of the sandy supplemental is the house would do something on the fiscal cliff package and somehow they could use that as an opportunity to get the sandy bill through. the chance for the fall supplemental to be passed before the end of the year, it will either be a smaller amount or they will not touch it at all. the senate will have to start over next year. host: raymond hernandez rights that leaders from the hurricane- battered region and urged the house to act. he says states need an infusion of aid to continue cleanup and rebuilding efforts. it sounds like an unusual move. all of these governors are working together as opposed to saying separately "this is what i need." guest: you have a lot of the personalities representing the victims of sandy. they have pulled together effectively after the first few weeks after the storm. they have generally bee

. host:thehouseandsenate are back in session today, butthefiscalcliffnegotiationsare not on the agenda. during this first segment, we want to hear from business owners only. about your views on the fiscal cliff and how it may affect you in 2013. you can see the numbers on the divided by zones -- time zones. you can also contact us via social media on twitter or facebook or by e-mail. before we get an update on the fiscal cliff, two articles to show you. this is from the houston chronicle. that's from the houston chronicle. if there are updates, we will get those throughout this morning's program. one other article and we want to show you -- according to one article, the nominee has flown back from hawaii with the president on air force one. most of the papers are filled with articles about the fiscal cliff issue. joining us now is merideth shiner of cq roll call. ms. shiner. guest: ms. shiner seem so formal. we're having a recession in between christmas and new year's. that has not happened since the 1970's. maybe we should play disco or maybe they should just fin

themselves why they let the democrats define the rules of debate onthefiscalcliff. thehouseshouldhave passed a bill saying you cannot use money for medicare to finance obamacare. the plan to finance obamacare and the house should have passed a bill on that. or how about passing a bill that any reform of entitlements -- medicare and social security -- cannot involve taking away benefits from those on the system today and those about to go on the system. you can make good reforms to young people. they should have passed a tax simplification bill. host: next call comes from john in pennsylvania, republican line. caller: good morning. president eisenhower, the rate for the top taxpayers never went below 91%. now we cannot seem to get it up to 39%. in 2001, we had the largest budget surplus ever. 10 years later it would have the largest deficit ever. in 2001, we had $5 trillion in debt. we gained $10 trillion in debt in less than 10 years. $5 trillion was because of the bush tax cuts. guest: there were numerous tax shelters back then that were finally removed from the code under ronald rea

. host: what willthehouseandsenate be voting on today? will there be an agreement onthefiscalclifforan alternative plan that would continue unemployment benefits and keep taxes at the bush era level? guest: i'm not sure that anybody knows. and that includes president obama, joe biden, senator reid, speaker boehner. there are not the many hours left until the new year. the players involved are all aware of that. that has not made enough of a difference to change the negotiations. we will know more as the house and senate members return to the hill this morning. then we will know if we're going over the fiscal cliff at midnight. host: edward-isaac dovere, thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: the senate action getting underway about 11:00 a.m. and we will have live coverage of what happens on each floor of the chamber as lawmakers will meet with reporters. this is from joseph ramirez. "the blame game continues" is the headline from "usa today." charles is joining us from texas. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i think we are in trouble either way.

to reachafiscalcliffdeal.thesenateandhouseareexpected to reconvene tomorrow. we're six days away from possible across the board tax increases and spending cuts. >>> former president george h.w. bush is still in a houston hospital. his wife, barbara, and other relatives at his side. the 88-year-old has been in the hospital for more than a month with a lingering cough and recently had a low grade fever. doctors remain cautiously optimistic about a full recovery. >>> a claim of facebook privacy breach within the zuckerberg family. his sister says a family photo was reposted by another person on twitter. randy zuckerberg called the woman out. the woman apologized said it was public because it was in her facebook newsfeed. >>> in china the longest high speed railway opens, connects beijing with guangzhou, 1,500 in eight hours, but tickets start at $138, and they're a little pricey for some people and many travelers say it's cheaper and faster to fly. >>> a report just out this morning shows home prices up in october, the biggest annual gain in more than two years. alison kosik joins u

to thewhitehousetodayto work on the everloomingfiscalcliff. canhe cut a deal with republicans. >>> and david gregory may be in trouble of the law because of that ammo thing he has on his anchor desk. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ ♪ you make me happy when skies are gray ♪ [ female announcer ] you know exactly what it takes to make them feel better. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] that's why you choose children's tylenol. the same brand your mom trusted for you when you were young. ♪ how much i love you [ humming ] [ female announcer ] children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. [ humming ] by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. >>> th

majority inthehouse. inother words, i believe we could take up the bill that preventsthefiscalcliffandget it passed in the house. the only thing preventing us from doing that is that the speakers refuse to allow a vote on that. people need to understand that that plan would provide tax relief to 100% of american families on their first $250,000 of income and for folks above that level, they would be paying a little more on the amount of their income above $250,000. that was the bipartisan senate plan. we should have a vote on a plan like that here in the house. >> congressman, last hour i spoke with a woman her name was karen duct. she lives just outside your district. she could lose her unemployment benefits this weekend if no one comes through with a deal that can be sign ed by the president. here's what she said to you and the rest of washington. >> i would ask them to please come together and make a decision, a decision is needed. put all the personalities aside and step up and make a decision. it's not that difficult to make a decision to make sure that millions of americans

. that is whenthehouseandsenate is expected to reconvene. >>> starbucks weighing in with theownfiscalcliffcampaign.workers at 120 d.c. area stores are asked to write this on their cup. come together. yeah, he says it's a way to send elected official as a respectful but potent message, urging them to come together to fin common ground. not grounds, ground. >> all of the bickering in washington, all it will take is a cup at starbucks, i think it will push everybody over the edge. get a deal. >>> ahead, a u.s. marine who languished in a mexican prison for months, gets to spend the holidays at home with his family. >>> coming up, we'll talk to one of the lawmaker who's helped win his release. you're watching "starting point." ♪ everybody well don't you know it's me now? ♪ ♪ yeah who's it, who's it huh? ♪ ♪ willy's back with a brand new beat now, ♪ ♪ yeah doin' it doin' it up! ♪ heyyy yeah, tryin' to bite my style! ♪ ♪ heyyy yeah, how you like me now? ♪ ♪ na na na na na na na na ♪ and everybody go uh! time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants tha

has a compassionate alternative to what happens if we go overthefiscalcliff. true,from the very beginning i have favored a comprehensive solution to put our fiscal house in orderings something along the lines of the simpson-bowles. we don't have that luxury right now. but perhaps it will only soften the blow of the fiscal cliff but also give us a sense of urgency about a grand bargain to repair our financial house. i am not so naive as to believe everybody is going to check their politics at the door, even at this late hour, but this is not a time for politicking, bickering or partisan games. to allow the country to plunge over the fiscal cliff without any alternative plans to soften the landing is completely unacceptable. i can't think of anything more irresponsible than to let this great country go over the fiscal cliff, to play games with the lives of americans in such a callous way, to jeopardize the financial standing of our country and to alarm our financial narcotics ways that could trigger another recession. something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to th

. >> 30 hours to go until the country hitsthefiscalcliffandstill no deal. i'm melissa rayberger, and the white house has sent one of its top negotiators to capitol hill, but right now it's all centered on the senate, and as democrats dig in to protect social programs, republicans do the same on taxes. >> raising taxes to pay for new spending is not something that republicans believe this debate ought to be about. it ought to be about reducing the deficit and the debt, and what they are essentially suggesting is we want new taxes. we want higher taxes on people in this country to pay for new spending. >> so what happens next? with us nbc news capitol hill correspondent mike vic rah and nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. mike, let's get started with you. what's happening right now in the senate. i understand there's an update on the chained cpi. >> reporter: they say the darkest hour right before the dawn, melissa. everybody ought to hope that's true, at least if you don't want to see your taxes go up on midnight on monday and tuesday night because everything seems

to thewhitehouseforthe president momentarily is scheduled to speak aboutthefiscalcliff. heis joined by middle-class americans and is in the eisenhower executive office, a short distance from the white house. we are waiting for the president to be -- to come to the podium. you can share your thoughts with us on our facebook page as to whether washington should forge a compromise or go over the fiscal cliff. the president is coming momentarily and this is a live view from the white house. our coverage continues this december 31, 11 hours before the midnight deadline for congress to reach an agreement on the fiscal cliff. >> president of the united states -- [applause] >> thank you. >> happy new year to you. >> low, everybody. thank you. everybody have a seat. good afternoon, everybody. welcome to the white house. i realize that the last thing you want to hear on new year's eve is another speech from me. but i do need to talk about the progress being made in congress today. for the last few days, leaders of both parties are working toward an agreement that will prevent a middle-class t

a deal can be cut in time to avertthefiscalcliff. onsaturday, the president was at work here in the white house but all eyes were on the senate where negotiators were trading deal points and revenue figures to try to reach an agreement all sides can stomach. the baseline for the president, any bipartisan bill would have to extend unemployment insurance that would affect some 2 million americans and increase taxes for the highest income earners. but negotiators can still work out exactly where that tax increase would hit and whether they would halt an increase in the estate tax. in case those discussions break down, the president asked harry reid to prepare a separate bill to put on the floor of the senate that would raise taxes on households that earn $250,000 or more. now, that's really a democratic proposal and you could expect republicans to block it, so, rather than thinking of that as a stop gap measure, probably think of it as a political measure to shift the responsibility for failure on to republicans just before the nation hits the hour of wreckening. alison? >> than

-calledfiscalcliffwiththe new year's deadline looming in several days. the senate is due back in session tomorrow. they have several items on their docket. they have defense spending and perhaps fiscal cliff matters. the house is due in tomorrow as well. we do not have their schedule. both bodies of congress in over the weekend as well. here are the numbers to call for open phones. republicans, 202-585-3881. democrats, 202-585-3880. independents, 202-585-3882. "the richmond times dispatch" -- host: a lot more to tell you about in the papers today, including this piece about john kerry, the man who the president has nominated to become secretary of state. now the outgoing massachusetts senator. they go on in this piece in "usa today" -- harder choices loom. syria being a more intractable problem than libya. a tougher stance with china through the a share rebalancing . is now the time to me sure a firmer line does not lead to another war. writer a lot that the lays out in his piece. grace from alabama, good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question about benghazi. nobody has said an

is making some comments onthefiscalcliffnegotiations. >> everybody have a seat. good afternoon everybody. welcome to the white house. >> i realized that the last thing you want to hear on the ears yves is another speech from me but i do need to talk about the progress that is being made in congress today. for the last few days leaders in both parties have been working toward an agreement. preventing that tax hike has been my top priority. the last thing folks can afford is to pay an extra $2,000 in taxes next year. middle-class families cannot afford it. businesses cannot afford. our economy cannot afford. it appears that an agreement to prevent this new year's tax hike is within sight. it is not done. there are still issues left to resolve. we are hopeful that congress can get it done. make sure that we emphasize to congress and that members of both parties understand that all across america this is a pressing concern. the potential agreement that is being talked about with not only make sure that taxes do not go on middle- class families it also would extend tax credits fo

. cheryl: we are getting some crucial breaking news onthefiscalcliffdiscussion.this learning from the white house the president is going to address the country. 130 eastern time. that is about 45 minutes from now. obviously the president is calling to make some type of statement. it is going to be about the fiscal cliff, and he will be surrounded with middle-class americans. we are also getting reports right now, there are some details that are emerging about what a deal could possibly be looking or looking like at this hour. at this point, that deal could race tactics of raise tax rates for individuals that have an in camera above 400,000 year. households of 450 quoting a source familiar with those talks again, just crossing the wires, these two pieces of key information. we may have the framework for a deal. we will take the president's comments live. 130 eastern, 45 minutes from now. as we get ready to pop the cork on new year's, champagne already celebrating, finishing out 2012 as the number one champagne sparkling wine brand in the entire nation. joining me now as he does eve

. >> president owe pa ma returns to washington today with five days to avoidthefiscalcliff. >>all eyes will be on the senate after house republicans said it's up to senate leadership to reach a deal. >>> starbucks is urging action asking baristas in his washington, d.c., cafes to write the word "come together" on the cups. >> a new york newspaper facing backlash after it published the names and addresses of local gun owners. >>> a busy shanghai shopping center a shark tank exploded. >>> the windy city of chicago will sport america's most expensive parking meters. >> what do you think about that? >> too much. >> all that -- >> smith catches, shoots puts it up, puts it in at the buzzer! j.r. smith with another game winner! >>> what is your favorite app? >> scrabble. >> sometimes i want to yank that out of your hands. >> and all that matters. >> an endangered thin backed whale watched up on the breezy point section of queens. >> on "cbs this morning." >> i know he's smiling but that medal hanging around his neck there's a 40% chance he'll hang himself with it. captionin

-calledfiscalcliff. theyspoke on the senate floor after a meeting with thewhitehousewithpresident obama and leaders from the house. >> what the plan is that everyone knows we have been to the white house, we have had a constructive meeting. we certainly hope that something positive will come from that. the republican leader and i and our staffs are working to see what we can come up with. we should not take a long time to do that. i think it would be to everybody's interest if we were not in session tomorrow. my plan to comment at 1:00, we have an hour on our previous agreement that we have. there is an hour of debate on that, we have a vote. we have another vote that has been set up, that is a simple majority. that you are talking about sunday? >> yes. >> we will probably start those votes a little after 2:00. and then for us, we will have another caucus. hopefully by that time, we will have made a determination whether we can do something on the floor in addition to what we have just talked about. i think we need that time to have everybody kind of step back a total bit. is some what

to washington d.c. on thursday. the president is returning to thewhitehousetoworkonitsfiscalcliffdealbefore the year inns. without an agreement, automatic tax increase is for everyone and deep spending cuts will be triggered in the new year. the >> the death toll has risen to six from winter storms in the nation's midsection. if this is video automobile, alabama. an enormous storm system that brought snow and sleet to the nation's midsection and tournedos to the deep south is now moving its way toward the northeast. >> we are still tracking pretty good storm sales as you can see here is a live look as storm tracker 4. san for cisco is starting to dry out. we are still seeing pretty good rain coming out towards ever bring and 101. \ evergreen and 101. hayward and union city are also looking at moderate rain showers that are coming through. richmond and certain parts oakland are also looking at light rain. all the rain will stick a round and we will have scattered showers for the rest of the day. showers will decrease by the afternoon and you should grab your unreligious in case you ar

thewhitehouseaftertrying to negotiate an 11th hour deal to avoid the"fiscalcliff" oftax hikes and spending cuts that begin on january 1. the president emerged shortly after admitting no deal had been reached at least not yet. >> we had a constructive meeting today. senators reid and mcconnell are discussing a potential agreement where we can get a bipartisan bill out of the senate over to the house and done in a timely fashion. >> reporter: the senate is in session today and is expected to return on sunday along with the house. >> we are engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself and the white house, in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation. >> reporter: but time is clearly running out for congress. st. mary's college political professor steven wol fert says the senate needs to introduce something today or they will likely not make the deadline. >> the deadline is so short and the amount of time necessary to go through the procedural steps to approve legislation are so numerous that they are right up against the very limit

a way to avoidthefiscalcliffpublic.>> we had a good meeting at thewhitehouse. weare engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself and the white house in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation that i can make to my conference and the expwrort leader can make to his conference. >> at yesterday's white house meeting, president obama did not offer negotiators anything new. he just tried to sell them on the same plan he outlined last friday, being called plan c. since the president's plan a and speaker boehner's plan b both failed to gain traction. plan c would extend middle class tax rates and we're told the senate wants to tweak exactly who counts as being in the middle class. maybe even raising the income threshold and the white house is apparently willing to go as high as 4 or $500,000 a year. plan c would expand unemployment benefits for the 2 million people set to lose them at the end of this year. it would include a small amount of spending cuts but would not touch entitlements like medicare and not deal with the debt limit

the clock is ticking for congress to get something done or risk taking the nation overthefiscalcliff. >>good afternoon. i'm steve >> we welcome our viewers. our top story president obama has invited the four congressional leaders to the white house this afternoon to try to salvage negotiations before need the new year's day deadline. if an agreement is not reached by then tax hikes and spending will kick in. economists say it could send the country back into recession. republicans and democrats are blaming each other for the stalemate. the democrats want to extend the bush era tax cuts for those thinking less than $250,000. >> to taxes will go up for every taxpaying american. republicans are not about to write a blank check to us because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> consistently show that a majority of americans support the president's position on tax es. >> did the shooting as the chicago at 500 homicides for the year. >> so far no comment yet. chicago police have been working hard to prevent it. the 500 happened last night. the shooting death on the we

thefiscalcliffarehow to stop these tax hikes on the middle class as thewhitehouseseesit. but there's also a number of smaller tax measures that are set to expire. they sort of create their own set of problems, even for some democrats. so he may really need to do some lobbying on a few of them, don. >> brianna, how did he spend christmas? >> reporter: christmas, we talked about this yesterday. we said we wouldn't be surprised if he went to visit troops as he's done in past years. indeed he did end up doing that. he went a short distance from where he and the first family rent a home, to a military station here an oahu. and he visits with troops thanking them for their service and also thanking their families for their service. he said to them, we know the sacrifice that our military men and women make in defending our country. but sometimes it gets lost just how much of a sacrifice the families make as well. and as you know, don, first lady, michelle obama, has been really active with military families along with jill biden. so that was something also that was really important to he

onthefiscalcliff. senateleaders are working on a last ditch agreement. they hope to vote as soon as tomorrow. both houses will reconvene tomorrow. some republicans suggest racing taxes for those earning at least a million, the president and democrats want increases on making more than $250,000 a year. >> we can't afford a politiclyself inflicted wound to the economy. the economy is growing but keeping that way means the folks you sent to washington have to do their jobs. >> the president said congress must meet the new year's deadline and pass a balanced plan. >> the president's proposal to raise taxes on the top 2% won't even pay one third of the interest that's owed on this 16 trillon dollar debt. >> ouri senator gave the gop address saying the president's tax hike would only fund the government for eight days. >> here is what could happen if no deal is reached. out of work americans will loose their extended benefits, california would be hit the hardest, 400,000 will loose benefits and the bay area will certainly feel the sting, more than 22,000 people in alameda and contra costa coul

number one is avoidingthefiscalcliff. >>unless the president obama and congress can reach a deal by the new year, tax increases and spending cuts will automatically take effect. >> and the clock is ticking. >>> of course, when we look back at this year, president obama's re-election was one of the biggest political stories of the year. all others, you could say, they pealed in comparison. >> with the first of our year-enders, here's abc's karen travers. >> reporter: to win a second term, president obama had to overcome a well funded opponent, a struggling economy, and voters' doubts that he had the right agenda to turn the nation around. [ chanting ] >> all: four more years! >> reporter: and after a roller coaster season, he got them. mitt romney may have started off at the frontrunner, but to win the republican nomination, he had to fend off some feisty challengers. >> he's the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. >> reporter: and overcome some self-inflicted wounds. >> i like being able to fire pe

story tonight is the action or inaction on capitol hill. if lawmakers do not reachafiscalcliffagreement,you could see your taxes skyrocket and deep spending cuts kick in on entitlements and tax increases. the major sticking points or entitlements and tax increases. house republicans met into the evening and we'll find out in the morning whether joe biden and mitch mcconnell made any progress in their talks. both houses will be back in session tomorrow. those are your headlines this hour, i'm don lemon, keeping you informed. cnn, the most trusted name in news. >>> three, two, one. and liftoff -- >> may 2012, space-x launched a rocket into space, becoming the first commercial company to dock a spacecraft at the international space station. it marked a new beginning, private companies instead of nasa sending cargo to the station. it was one of the space industry's top accomplishments. one of our top scientific breakthroughs of 2012. >>> it was a banner year for bad behavior and not all of it easy to stomach. from sports to politics and beyond. here's joe johns with the ten most

trading session for 2012. and it comes, of course, with the add eed drama ofafiscalcliffsetto take place 15 hours from now. i'm carl, with melissa lee. cramer and faber are off today. good morning to you, dan. >> good morning. >> the house gaveling into session just a few moments ago. business there is going to start at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. futures are showing some resilience as becky said, despite no deal yet in congress. but remember, the sell-off on friday and friday night was pretty severe. the dow is set to open below 13,000. markets in europe mixed after a shortened session in the uk, france and spain. our road map starts right where we were months ago, waiting for the 112th congress to agree on a debt reduction package. the senate convenes at 11:00 a.m. >> the dow had its worst day in a month on friday. set to close december with a loss. the question is, does it continue to sell off if there isn't an accord in congress. >> we will always have china. manufacturing pmi data from last night is the best in 21 months. can we finally say the chinese economy has been stabilized

of the tax rates. we did deal withthefiscalcliffissuesweeks have passed that. it's harry reid and the president that have yet to come up with something. if it was so easy, if they thought they had a solution to it, why didn't on friday they come to the table and actually pass something? the pressure is on them, what can they pass in the senate? >> harold, you know the politics of this but you also know the markets and how they've been reacting and wall street and corporate america more generally. is there new pessimism that we're, a, not going to get a deal and not solve the issue anyway? >> big disappointment. people outside of washington understand clearly. a couple hundred billion over ten years separating both sides. the question becomes can washington still govern itself? two, there's a realization we're in the middle of a small recovery. if we find ourselves not able to resolve this moment, it retards and slows and undermines what we see ourselves doing going forward. finally, for the life of me as someone who sfrd there, it was so distressful to watch both sides yell at

offthefiscalcliff, presidentobama is cutting his hawaiien family vacation short. flying back to washington tonight. unwhat kind of deal-making possibilities he will find when he gets back. house republican leaders held a conference call but no decision when to call members back nor is it clear what kind of deal, if any, they will have to vote on. a lot of moving pieces and a lot of digging for cnn's dana bash. i understand there were no decisions out of the call. do we have any sense what fellow republicans are telling speaker boehner? how likely are we going to see a vote before going over the cliff? >> it's up in the air. i'm told it is in part why house republicans didn't make a decision whether to bring the house back or when to do it. the ball is really in the senate's court, specifically with senate democrats. that changed big time since a couple of weeks ago. at this point what senate democrats are trying to figure out is whether or not they can find enough republicans to cross party lines for what the president proposed right before he left for hawaii which is a scale

lawmakers to reach a"fiscalcliff" compromise.the coffee giant surging employees in some of its 120 washington area shops to write the words, come together on cups of java. let's send it back to you. >> thank you. >>> looks like shoppers just weren't in the holiday spirit this year. >> holiday sales growth was the weakest since 2008. one report put the increase at 0.7%. that's far below analysts' predictions of 3 to 4%. experts blamed superstorm sandy and the looming "fiscal cliff" for disrupting shopping. back to you. >> thank you, erica ferrari in new york. >>> and -- >> and -- >> go ahead. >>> holiday sales grew at a weak pace, weakest in four years. mastercard reports the sales in the two months before increased just .7% over last year. >>> new evidence that the bay area job market is in recovery mode right now. a new check of the numbers finds the boom that began in the silicon valley tech sector is broaden. the "oakland tribune" found construction was the fastest growing industry in the bay area just over the last year and there's also growth in retail, wholesale trade, manufa

a republican saying about the status ofthefiscalcliffnegotiations?reporter: they have been pretty quiet so far. we know the speaker of the house and the republican leadership team in the house is due for a conference call with members that are still back in their home districts later this hour. we expect senate republican leader mitch mcconnell to be on the senate floor. the top of the next hour, so we should get some insight from him as well. some of the aides have suggested that eerie read should talk less and legislate more. meanwhile, a house republicans suggested -- well, it's not so good. >> the house is actually extend these tax rates for everybody in the entire country, which is exactly the correct policy as we see it. we send it to the senate, the senate refuses to take it up. the senate can fix this today if they wanted to. >> the bottom line is that republicans are expecting that the white house and/or democrats on the hill will make a final offer of some sort at some point. but timing is not clear. not at this time. greg: mike emanuel live on capitol hill. thank you very much.

thefiscalcliff, if,he and the speaker are able to make a deal before it's too late. gregg: we'll be holding our breath. peter doocy, thanks. >> reporter: yeah. patti ann: the commander-in-chief also spent part of his holiday thanking the troops on a visit to a hawaiian military base. the president and first lady paying tribute to those here and abroad who risk their lives keeping us safe. he took time to honor their families as well. >> so many of you make sacrifices day in, day out on behalf of our freedom, on behalf of our security, and not only do those in uniform make sacrifices but i think everybody here understands the sacrifices that families make each and every day as well. and michelle --. patti ann: the president also made a series of holiday phone calls monday night thanking members of the armed forces around the globe. >>> shoppers are going to be making tough decisions today. many preparing to return unwanted holiday gifts. retailers suggest patience if you plan to hit the stores today. they are expecting a very busy day of returns and exchanges. of course longer

the job done . here's what we are facing. we are teetering on the edge ofthefiscalcliff. thereare many members in congress who disaagree raising of tax. the president had gone up to $400,000 when house speaker boehner would raise the tax hikes . but the sticking point is enments and spending. >> clayton: the republicans saying that the president and democrats not forth coming enough on entitlements. here's what will unfold in a few short days as we break this down to you. >> put your seat belts on, people. >> clayton: tax rates will hit these numbers and you go up to 120,000 . you will see 31 percent up to 36 percent . in these tax rates as they climb up. >> here's the bottom line. average tax rate of 2,000 to $4000. it is an additional 13,944 . millionaire's status which the president wanted to raise status on will be 34635. big deep in your pockets if woo go off the fiscal cliff. >> it is so crazy . we have the holiday get together. living in new york city . it is so expensive and you are making $250,000. you are middle class here. >> clayton: if you have a family of four and taxes a